Photo by: Hardy Meredith | SFA Photography
Women’s Golf Tied for 17th after Round One of Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Spring Classic
2/25/2018 7:57:00 PM | Women's Golf
Ladyjacks shoot third-lowest score (13-over 301) on Oak Point golf course in opening round, Alexandra Batista tied for lead after notching a career-best 3-under 69
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – The Stephen F. Austin women's golf team is off to a strong start at the 2018 Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Spring Classic on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, after shooting a 13-over 301 in Sunday's opening round of play. The Ladyjacks shot the third-lowest score on the par-72, 5,941-yard Oak Point golf course during the first round and sit tied for 17th at the nation's largest collegiate golf tournament, which is comprised of 42 schools and 43 total teams.
Round one was highlighted by sophomore Alexandra Batista's tremendous play as she shot a career-best 3-under 69 to sit tied atop the player leaderboard, which includes more than 200 golfers. The Trophy Club, Texas, native's first round score is third-lowest individual round by a SFA golfer in program history. She becomes just the fourth Ladyjack golfer to register a round score of 69 or better after collecting an opening-round best six birdies.
"I am very pleased with the Ladyjacks' round today," head coach Trey Schroeder said following Sunday's conclusion of play. "Alex (Batista) was literally knocking down pins on the range this morning and Erica (Lautensack) carried over a great practice round with a solid round today. It's just a matter of time before Jamee (Jorgensen), Paola (Cortes) and Alexis (Szewczyk) fire a low round this week. These Ladyjacks are tough as nails and they are working hard to get better every day."
The Oak Point course proved to be nearly 3.3 strokes more difficult during round one than the Osprey Point golf course, which is where half of the tournament field played its first round Sunday. The 301 score turned in by the Ladyjacks is the lowest opening round shot by SFA at any tournament in 2017-18.
Along with Batista's stellar round one performance, redshirt junior Erica Lautensack (Arlington, Texas) shot a 2-over 74 Sunday afternoon for her third-lowest round this season and is tied for 41st. Both sophomore Paola Cortes (Allen, Texas) and redshirt junior Jamee Jorgensen (Boerne, Texas) are tied for 134th on the individual leaderboard after tallying scores of 7-over 79 through the first 18 holes. Freshman Alexis Szewczyk (McKinney, Texas) shot a first-round score of 12-over 84 to stand tied for 191st.
The three-day, 54-hole Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Spring Classic will continue Monday with round two. SFA will take on the par-72, 5,964-yard Osprey Point course for its second round Monday, which will get underway with a shotgun start at 7:45 a.m. CT.
The Ladyjacks are paired with SCAD Savannah, Fairleigh Dickinson and Georgia Southern for round two as Lautensack and Batista will tee off from hole No. 1. Cortes and Jorgensen will begin on hole No. 2, while Szewczyk will tee off of hole No. 3.
The third and final round of the tournament will take place Tuesday with a 7:45 a.m. CT shotgun start once again. The top 22 teams in the standings after the first 36 holes of play will compete on the Osprey Point course for Tuesday's third round, while teams who stand 23rd-43rd will take on the Oak Point course for the final round.
Live scoring of the 2018 Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Spring Classic can be followed via Golfstat.com.
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack golf throughout the spring.
-SFA-
Players Mentioned
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